Bowdoin College
OP-7: Food and Beverage Purchasing

Bowdoin Dining Service operates two dining halls, three cash operations, and provides campus catering service. Our purchasing staff includes a Sourcing and Menu Manager and three purchasing assistants who actively seek out local products and vendors. Our prime food vendor is PFG-Northcenter. Their local food supply chain has increased dramatically year over year but we also utilize many local vendors for items like fresh vegetables, beef, fish, shellfish, groceries and vegetables. We have had a focus on local purchasing since 2002 when we became a charter member of Farm Fresh Connections, a not-for-profit that coordinated the sale of food from local farms to institutions. In 2005, we started our campus organic garden. Our purchasing policies seek to promote a sustainable economy in Maine and New England by spending our considerable food budget locally for goods and services whenever possible. The College purchases fresh local vegetables in season and contracts for off-season deliveries. We buy tomatoes year-round from a local commercial greenhouse operation and our apples from a local orchard. Our in-house meat shop uses Maine beef for all ground beef. Our fish/shellfish is MSC-certified or local. We are part of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute's (GMRI) responsibly harvested seafood branding program and were the first institution to partner with them on the “Out of the Blue” underutilized seafood promotion. Our shell eggs are cage-free. We use only local oats and honey. We feature fair trade coffees in all operations. Our dining hall menus have a strong emphasis on local cuisine. Traditional recipes are the outcome of the local “terroir” and tie the food to the culture. The Bowdoin Organic Garden continues to be a campus focal point where sustainability, academics and agriculture meet.

Full vendor and product analysis using menu management software. Full fiscal year results utilized from 2017-2018.